Confirmation unites the Church more intimately and enriches it with a special strength of the Holy Spirit, and thus those who receive it are obliged to spread and defend the faith through word and deed, as true witnesses of Christ.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1285
The Sacrament of Catholic Confirmation, together with the Sacrament of the Baptism and the Eucharistic sacrament make up the whole of the "the sacraments of Christian initiation".. These are Christian sacraments whose reception is necessary for the fullness of the grace we receive in Baptism and are intended for all Christians, not just a select few.
It is conferred when the candidate has reached the use of reason, there is no obligatory age, but its character of initiation must be taken into account. To receive confirmation, prior instruction, a true intention and the state of grace are required.
The term Confirmation indicates that this sacrament ratifies the baptismal graceIt strengthens our relationship with the Church and gives us a special strength from the Holy Spirit to defend the faith and confess the name of Christ.
Confirmation, like Baptism, imprints on the Christian's soul a spiritual sign or indelible character; this is why this sacrament can only be received once in a lifetime.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1302-1305
Like every sacrament, Confirmation is the work of God, who is concerned that our life be shaped in the image of his Son, to make us capable of loving like him, infusing us with the Holy Spirit.
This Spirit acts with his power in us, in the whole person throughout life. When we welcome him into our hearts, Christ himself becomes present and takes shape in our lives.
The effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as it was once granted to the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. Pope Francis tells us that it is the Spirit who moves us to come out of our selfishness and to be a gift to others.
For this reason, Confirmation confers growth and depth to baptismal grace:
Grant a special power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to spread and defend the faith by word and deed as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly and to never be ashamed of the cross.
It unites us more firmly to Christ because it grants us the special strength of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
It unites us more strongly to the members of the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church. Thinking of the Church as a living organism, composed of people who walk together in community with the bishop, who is the original minister of confirmation and who links us to the Church.
"Confirmation is received only once, but its spiritual strength is sustained over time and encourages spiritual growth with others."Ā Pope Francis.
"Confirmation is received only once, but its spiritual strength is sustained over time and encourages spiritual growth with others."
Pope Francis
Every baptized person, not yet confirmed, can and should receive the sacrament of Confirmation.
The sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist form a unity, therefore "the faithful have the obligation to receive this sacrament at the appropriate time" because Without Confirmation and the Eucharist, the sacrament of Baptism is certainly valid and efficacious, but Christian initiation remains incomplete.
In other cultures this sacrament is administered immediately after Baptism and is followed by participation in the Eucharist, a tradition that emphasizes the unity of the three sacraments of Christian initiation.
In the Latin Church this sacrament is administered when "the age of reason" has been reached. However, in danger of death, children must be confirmed even if they have not yet reached the age of reason.
There is a preparation for the sacrament that helps to feel part of the Church of Jesus Christ. Each parish is responsible for the preparation of the confirmands.
To receive Confirmation it is necessary to be in a state of grace. It is advisable to go to confession and make a good examination of conscience before the sacrament. In this way, to be purified in attention to the gift of the Holy Spirit.
It is necessary to prepare oneself with a more intense prayer to the Holy Spirit in order to receive his strength and graces with docility and availability. For Confirmation, as for Baptism, it is advisable that the candidates seek the spiritual help of a sponsor.
It is necessary to receive the Holy Spirit in recollection and prayer.
Pope Francis
The rite of confirmation has several liturgical gestures that express the depth of this sacrament of Christian initiation. Before receiving the anointing that confirms and reinforces the grace of baptism, the candidates are called to renew the baptismal promises and make profession of faith. After a prayerful silence, the Bishop extends his hands over the confirmed and invokes the outpouring of the Spirit upon them. The Spirit enriches the members of the Church with his gifts, thus building unity in diversity.
It is an important moment that precedes the celebration of Confirmation, but in a certain way is part of it, it is the consecration of the holy chrism.
It is the bishop who, on Ash Wednesday, during the Chrism Mass, consecrates the holy chrism for his entire diocese.
The holy chrism is composed of olive oil and balsam and the anointing of the confirmandi with it is a sign of their consecration.
With the renewal of the promises of Baptism and the profession of faith of the confirmands, the liturgy of the sacrament of Confirmation begins.
The Bishop extends his hands over all the confirmands, a gesture which, since the time of the Apostles, is the sign of the gift of the Spirit. The Bishop thus invokes the outpouring of the Spirit:
"Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who didst regenerate, by water and the Holy Ghost, these thy servants, and didst deliver them from sin: hear our prayer and send upon them the Holy Spirit the Paraclete; fill them with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, with the spirit of counsel and might, with the spirit of knowledge and godliness; and fill them with the spirit of thy holy fear. Through Jesus Christ our Lord." Ritual of Confirmation, 25.
Through the anointing with oil on the forehead, the confirmand receives "the mark", the seal of the Holy Spirit.. The anointing of holy chrism after Baptism, at Confirmation and at Ordination, is the sign of a consecration. A visible sign of the invisible gift we are receiving.
Those who are anointed participate more fully in the mission of Jesus Christ and in the fullness of the Holy Spirit that he possesses, so that their whole life may give off Christ. the anointing of the perfumed oil or chrism, which indicates how the Spirit enters into the deepest part of us, beautifying us with so many charisms.
Thus, the sacrament is conferred with the anointing of the holy chrism on the forehead and pronouncing these words: "Receive by this sign the gift of the Holy Spirit". An indelible character that configures us more fully to Jesus and gives us the grace to spread the good odor of Christ throughout the world.
"Receive by this sign the gift of the Holy Spirit." Paul VI, Const. ap. Divinae consortium naturae.
With which the rite of the sacrament of confirmation concludes, it signifies and manifests ecclesial communion with the bishop and with all the faithful.
This incorporation into the ecclesial community is manifested in the sign of peace with which the rite of confirmation concludes. The bishop says to each confirmed person: "Peace be with you".
These words remind us of Jesus' greeting to his disciples on Easter night and express the union with the Pastor of that particular church and with all the faithful. Moment that we remember during the
Apostle is the Christian who feels grafted into Christ, identified with Christ, by Baptism; enabled to fight for Christ, by Confirmation; called to serve God by his action in the world, by the common priesthood of the faithful, which confers a certain participation in the priesthood of Christ, which - being essentially distinct from that which constitutes the ministerial priesthood - enables one to take part in the worship of the Church, and to help men on their way to God, by the witness of word and example, by prayer and atonement.
St. Josemaria Escriva, It is Christ Who Passes By, 120
"Confirmation, strengthens our relationship with the Church and grants us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to defend the faith and confess the name of Christ."
Pope Francis
Thus, confirmation possesses an intrinsic unity with baptism, even if it is not necessarily expressed in the same rite. Ā With it, the candidate's baptismal patrimony is completed with the supernatural gifts characteristic of Christian maturity.
In the Old Testament, the prophets announced that the Spirit of the Lord would rest upon the expected Messiah "The Spirit of the Lord Yahweh is upon me, because Yahweh has anointed me. To preach good news to the poor he has sent me." Isaiah 61 1-2
Then God says to all the people, "I will infuse my spirit in you and cause you to conduct yourselves according to my precepts." Ezekiel 36:27
The Baptism of Jesus was the sign that he was the one who was to come, the Messiah, the Son of God. Having been conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit, his whole life and his whole mission are realized in total communion with the Holy Spirit that the Father gives him "without measure".
At various times in the New Testament, Jesus promised this union with the Spirit. He did so first on the day of Easter and then on the day of Pentecost.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, the Apostles begin to proclaim the wonders of God and Peter declares that this outpouring of the Spirit is the sign of the messianic times. The Acts of the Apostles recounts that those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received in turn the gift of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands and prayer.
It is this imposition of hands that has been rightly considered by Catholic tradition as the primitive origin of the sacrament of Confirmation, which perpetuates in the Church the grace of Pentecost.
Don't just speak to the Paraclete, hear Him!
St. JosemarĆaĀ EscrivĆ”
With the collaboration of:
Opusdei.org
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Vatican Council II, Const. Lumen Gentium
Baptism and Confirmation. Catechesis of Pope Francis
Confirmation grants us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to defend the faith. Catechesis of Pope Francis, February 2014
